Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तत्राद्भुतमपश्याम भारद्वाजस्य पौरुषम्‌ । लाघवं चास्त्रयोगं च बल॑ बाह्दोश्न भारत,भारत! उस समय हमने वहाँ द्रोणाचार्यका अद्भुत हस्तलाघव, अस्त्र-प्रयोग, बाहुबल तथा पुरुषार्थ देखा

Transliteration

tatrādbhutam apaśyāma bhāradvājasya pauruṣam | lāghavaṁ cāstrayogaṁ ca bāhubalaṁ ca bhārata ||

Translation

ఓ భారతా! ఆ సమయంలో అక్కడ భరద్వాజపుత్రుడైన ద్రోణాచార్యుని అద్భుతమైన పరాక్రమం, చేతి చురుకుదనం, అస్త్రప్రయోగ నైపుణ్యం, భుజబలం మేము దర్శించాము।

Word by Word

तत्रthere

अद्भुतम्wonderful, marvelous (thing)

अपश्यामwe saw

भारद्वाजस्यof Bharadvaja (i.e., Drona)

पौरुषम्manly valor, prowess

लाघवम्lightness, dexterity

चand

अस्त्रयोगम्application/use of weapons

चand

बलम्strength

बाहुदोःof arms and forearms (of the arm)

चand

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)

Droṇācārya (identified as Bhāradvāja’s son)

Bhāradvāja

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that extraordinary capability—agility, weapon-skill, and strength—commands awe on the battlefield, but it also implies an ethical burden: such power must be directed with discernment and responsibility, since it can determine life and death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he witnesses in the Kurukṣetra war: Droṇācārya’s astonishing martial performance, marked by quick dexterity, expert use of weapons, and great arm-strength.